Mechanism design is a broad and somewhat abstract part of Economics that one rarely hears about in day to day conversation. At its core it is about how the systems around us map preferences onto outcomes. Before one looks more into mechanism design it can seem like quite a fringe part of Economics, many of… Continue reading An introduction to mechanism design
Category: Blog
Ergodicity: The gap between typical and average
How far can typical and average diverge from each other? In many settings the answer is not much but in many more the answer can be a surprisingly large amount. These different settings are often not differentiated though leading to misleading statistics and beliefs. What differentiates these two types of systems? The answer is ergodicity.… Continue reading Ergodicity: The gap between typical and average
The Master of Power
How does one study power? How does one accumulate power? How does one wield power? Few have been more deliberate in considering these questions than Lyndon Johnson. He transformed the fabric of the institutions he touched to accomplish what he wanted, be it in the interest of the country or otherwise. In this essay I… Continue reading The Master of Power
Powers of 2
This is a really quick method I've found for estimating what 2^n is. As we can see on the left there is some kind of pattern as to when we move up an order of magnitude If your n ends in a 0 a 4 or a 7 then you will be on the first… Continue reading Powers of 2
Compounding
This post goes into some rules you can use to calculate compound interest. The rule of 72: what is it and why does it work "In order to find the time it takes to double your money divide 72 by the rate of return" For example if your rate of return is 8% it should… Continue reading Compounding
The Affluent Society – J K Galbraith
To secure to each family a [universal] minimum income would help ensure that the misfortunes of the parents, deserved or not, were not visited on their children. Investment in eduction assessed qualitatively as well as quantitatively could become the closest to being the basic index of social progress. The large corporation is seen as good… Continue reading The Affluent Society – J K Galbraith
How to actually change your mind – Eliezer Yudkowsky
Rationality: rational beliefs should not be preferences they should be the best estimate of the way things actually are. why bother learning about rationality if you can’t become fully rational, for the same reason that you would double check a test answer if you can’t be sure it will be correct. ‘if you don’t seek… Continue reading How to actually change your mind – Eliezer Yudkowsky
Map and Territory – Eliezer Yudkowsky
This is a book by Eliezer Yudkowsky on rationality. I would strongly recommend this to anyone interested in the subject and below I have put a few notes on bits I found particularly interesting. scope insensitivity: what would you pay to save 2000/20,000/20,000 birds? ideas is that you have a prototype bird and the emotional… Continue reading Map and Territory – Eliezer Yudkowsky
Neil Hacker 